Process of smelting



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOEL LUND, OFISAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PROCESS OF SMELTING.

No Drawing. Original application filed September 12, 1917, Serial No. 191,037. Div cation filed December 10, 1917.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOEL LUND, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Smelting, of which the following isa specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of smelting .ores and metals, which willbe more economical and efficient than those heretofore em ployed.

The present application is a division of an application filed by me September 12,

.1917, Serial No. 191,037. In that application there was described-a porous silicious substance, and a method of, and apparatus blocks, then passing it through an alkaline solution, maintaining the puffed slag as hot as possible-in order that the water taken up may beevaporated therefrom as quickly as possible, leaving the solid residue in the pores of the slag,-and. then passing it through heated petroleum oil and coking the petroleum in the pores of the slag.

It will be seen that by this process I obtain a porous, silicious-material, thepores of which are filled with finely divided particles of coke obtained from the petroleum oil and finely divided particles of alkaline matter precipitated from the alkaline solution. These blocks of slag, so formed, are of great value in processes of smelting ores or metal, particularly by means of fluid fuel, although, as in pyrites smelting, they may be used without using fluid fuel. They may be used in blast furnaces, cupolas, and all other apparatus for smelting metalliferous material employingfluid fuel. They serve to hold up the charge and render it porous;

' they also form a fluxing agent; the alkaline material and carbon serve as a carburizing agent; and the coke serves as a reducing agent.

In the smelting of the pig iron or scrap Specification of Letters Patent.

ided and this appli- Serial No. 206,382. V

by means of hydrocarbons or fluid fuel, it is difficult to impart to, or even to retain in, the iron a desirable amount of carbon when said iron is fused. This is caused mainly ,by the oxidizing action in reference to iron when said fuels are used, as it has been found experimentally in the smelting of iron by the use of fluid fuel and without the addition of solid carbon that the flame exerts an oxidizing action on the metal, which result has not heretofore been explained as far as I am aware. if, however, a material such as herein described, containing, or developing, a carbonate of the alkali-metals, be used to hold up the charge,-said carbonates being nonvolatile at the high temperature necessary to carry out the process, their joint action, together with the carbon and nitrogen involved, maintains a reducing atmos: phere in the zone of fusion, or, What amounts to the same thing, the gases involved are maintained sufficiently carburizing in this zone, to impart to the iron the necessary carbon.

Instead ofslag I may use natural pumice or any porous silicious substance either natural or otherwise prepared.

I claim 1. In metallurgy, to flux the materials composing a charge and for other purposes, the method which consists in introducing in proximity to said material in a furnace, a puffed slag in the pores ofwhich are contained a precipitate of sodium carbonate and petroleum coke and heating said material and slag.

2. In metallurgy, to flux materials composing a charge and for other purposes, the method which consists in introducing in proximity to said material in a furnace a porous silicious substance, such as purified puffed blast furnace slag, in the pores of which are contained a precipitate of a carbonate of an alkali metal and-coked hydrocarbon and heating said material and slag.

3. In metallurgy, to flux the materials composing a charge and for other purposes, the methodwhich consists in introducing in proximity to said material in a furnace chamber such as purified puffed blast furnace slag in the pores of which are contained coked hydro-carbon and heating said mate'- rial and slag.

JOEL LUND. 

